The Jews of Bogotá, Colombia, have established a special committee to receive Jews arriving from Venezuela, mainly because so many Venezuelan Jews are deciding to do just that: the anti-Semitic climate in Venezuela, at times actively cultivated by President Hugo Chávez’s government, has not abated. The World Jewish Congress estimates that “several dozen” Jewish families have already made the trip (which is much more when you consider the relatively small total number of Jewish families in the country). “We are not promoting that Venezuelan Jews come here because such a thing wouldn’t be fair to Venezuela’s Jewish community,” said a leader among the Bogotá Jews. “But we have to take care of the situation and we have set up telephone lines so they can be in touch with us whenever they want.”

The Jews of Bogotá, Colombia, have established a special committee to receive Jews arriving from Venezuela, mainly because so many Venezuelan Jews are deciding to do just that: the anti-Semitic climate in Venezuela, at times actively cultivated by President Hugo Chávez’s government, has not abated. The World Jewish Congress estimates that “several dozen” Jewish families have already made the trip (which is much more when you consider the relatively small total number of Jewish families in the country). “We are not promoting that Venezuelan Jews come here because such a thing wouldn’t be fair to Venezuela’s Jewish community,” said a leader among the Bogotá Jews. “But we have to take care of the situation and we have set up telephone lines so they can be in touch with us whenever they want.”